Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 Chapter 7: The Exploiters and the Exploited
Summary: Dagny oversees the work on the Rio Norte Line with the new contractor Ben Nealy, making decisions and calling for more Rearden Metal. Her progress earned the respect of Ellis Wyatt, and Hank Rearden. James Taggart tries to persuade her to stop using Rearden Metal, and then she leaves after learning of a surprise debate with Bertram Scudder. She finds a small diner, warms herself with coffee, and discusses morality and John Galt with the patrons. Dr. Potter of the State Science Institute fails to persuade Rearden to stop or to sell the rights to his Metal. Mr. Mowen refused to make Dagny’s switches with Rearden Metal, and the SSI said more study of the safety of Rearden Metal would be good. Dagny met with Dr. Robert Stadler, of the State Science Institute, but failed to persuade him to publicly correct the SSI statement. He described his competition with Hugh Akston over d’Anconia, Danneskjöld, and John Galt. Dagny finds James, and decides to break off from Taggart Transcontinental and finish the Rio Norte Line herself, and call it the John Galt Line. Dagny asked d’Anconia for an investment, but he refused, and she condemned him as being on the side of the moochers and looters. Instead she raised most of the money from others, and Rearden agreed to invest the remainder. Rearden dealt with a delayed copper shipment. His Mother met Hank at work to try (unsuccessfully) to persuade him to give a job to Philip. Rearden agreed to help Mr. Ward with an order of Rearden Metal, when Gwen Ives (age c. 28) informed them that the Equalization of Opportunity Bill had passed.
Start by reading the first-tier comments, which are all quotes of Ayn Rand (some of my favorites, some just important for other reasons). Comment on your favorite ones, or others' comments. Don't see your favorite quote? Post it in a new comment. Please reserve new comments for Ayn Rand, and your non-Rand quotes for "replies" to the quotes or discussion. (Otherwise Rand's quotes will get crowded out and pushed down into oblivion. You can help avoid this by "voting up" the Rand quotes, or at least the ones you especially like, and voting down first-tier comments that are not quotes of the featured book.)
Atlas Shrugged was written by Ayn Rand in 1957.
My idea for this post is discussed here:
http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts...
Start by reading the first-tier comments, which are all quotes of Ayn Rand (some of my favorites, some just important for other reasons). Comment on your favorite ones, or others' comments. Don't see your favorite quote? Post it in a new comment. Please reserve new comments for Ayn Rand, and your non-Rand quotes for "replies" to the quotes or discussion. (Otherwise Rand's quotes will get crowded out and pushed down into oblivion. You can help avoid this by "voting up" the Rand quotes, or at least the ones you especially like, and voting down first-tier comments that are not quotes of the featured book.)
Atlas Shrugged was written by Ayn Rand in 1957.
My idea for this post is discussed here:
http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts...
http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts...
www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/3f7eab...
Right?
!A --> X means if not A then X.
Herewith my full-length treatment of him:
http://www.conservapedia.com/Robert_S...
And we do know X is true, because of Premise 2: non-A. Right?
Premise #1:
Premise #3: A OR X
From this we can find: !A --> X. We can find the contrapositive of this: !X --> A. But we cannot tell whether X is true.
Premise 1 (P1): A. [just affirming any given proposition, called A].
Premise 2 (P2): non-A [just denying that same proposition; this is called a contradiction].
Premise 3 (P3): A or X [this should be obvious: if A is true, which we have affirmed in P1, then we can also say, "A or X" is true; regardless of what X is, or whether it is true or not, we know that A is true, so we know that "A or X" is true].
Premise 4 (P4): if not A, then X [this is simply another way of saying P3; "A or X" can be rephrased as "If not A, then X"; because those are the only two options in that premise].
Conclusion: therefore, X [Modus ponens is logical shortcut for this: If A, then X; A; therefore X. In this case, we have non-A, but it is the same pattern. If non-A, then X (which is P4); non-A (P2); therefore X].
There are different ways of showing this paradox, but this is the one that I learned and makes sense to me. Does it make sense to you? If not, tell me where I lost you.
I'm afraid you lost me on that one. I don't have any formal training in logic (or latin). Any chance you can give an example of the premises leading up to the green unicorns, so I can join in the fun?
Thanks,
VG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTmfw...
Premise 1: A.
Premise 2: non-A [contradiction of P1].
Premise 3: A or X [addition to P1].
Premise 4: if not A, then X [implication of P3].
Conclusion: therefore, X [P2, P4, modus ponens].
So given any contradiction, I just proved X. What is X? It could be the proposition that there are green unicorns on Mars. Given a contradiction, I can prove anything. I can prove it validly. That doesn't make it true. Why not? Because contradictions do not exist.
Rearden: “I hire men who produce. What has he got to offer?”
“He’s your brother… He needs a salary, so that he’d feel that he’s got money coming to him as his due, not as alms.”
“As his due? But he wouldn’t be worth a nickel to me.”
…. “You’re the most immoral man living – you think of nothing but justice! You don’t feel any love at all! … If you loved your brother, you’d give him a job he didn’t deserve, precisely because he didn’t deserve it – that would be true love and kindness and brotherhood. Else what’s love for? If a man deserves a job, there’s no virtue in giving it to him. Virtue is the giving of the undeserved.”
He was looking at her like a child at an unfamiliar nightmare, incredulity preventing it from becoming horror. “Mother,” he said slowly, “you don’t know what you’re saying. I’m not able ever to despise you enough to believe that you mean it.”
He [d’Anconia] chuckled, relieved. “Oh, that one? He’s the looter who thinks that his end justifies his seizure of my means.”
d'Anconia: “I’ll give you a hint. Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”
“Everybody will know it, Jim. But since nobody will admit it openly, everybody will be satisfied.”
“But we must preserve appearances.”
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